Former Reds third baseman one of 19 new candidates up for Hall of Fame

Former Reds third baseman Scott Rolen is one of 19 new candidates on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America 2018 Hall of Fame ballot.

Rolen, who played for the Reds from 2009-12, is one of only four third basemen (George Brett, Chipper Jones and Adrian Beltre are the others) in Major League history with at least 2,000 hits, 500 doubles, 300 home runs and 1,200 RBI. He’s the only third baseman to reach those marks while winning at least six Gold Glove awards.

Rolen, who played 17 seasons for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds, was an eight-time Gold Glove winner and seven-time National League All Star. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1997.

Candidates must be named on 75 percent of ballots to gain election. Relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman narrowly missed election last year with 74 percent of the vote. Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero had 71.7 percent.